Robert H. Wertheim

Rear Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

In April of this year, the United States Naval Academy’s Alumni Association honored Rear Admiral (ret) Robert H. Wertheim with its Distinguished Graduate Award.  Wertheim, graduated with distinction from the class of 1946.  Immediately after graduation he served aboard destroyers in both the Atlantic and Pacific fleets.

In 1947, he was a member of the Navy’s first nuclear weapons assembly team at Sandia Base.  He later served in the guided missile test ship USS Norton Sound and in the heavy cruiser USS Los Angeles.

Wertheim played a central role in the conception, development, production and operational support of the submarine-launched fleet ballistic missile systems Polaris, Poseidon and Trident, which became the nation’s most secure and effective deterrent to nuclear war.

Rear Admiral Wertheim has been a prime mover in the program to build the Uriah Levy Jewish Chapel at the Naval Academy, scheduled to be inaugurated in July.

You can read more about Rear Admiral Wertheim in the official USNA Distinguished Graduate Award Announcement (PDF).